Recovery
Part 8
A/N: Anything in bold italic is being spoken in Italian
Erik starts to panic. Jing-Mei reassuringly grabs his hand.
Jing-Mei: Relax Erik, everything is going to be okay.
Erik: Pppp...uppy gggoo bbbye bbbye.
Erik starts to cry. Rusty comes over to Erik's bed, confused.
Rusty: Papa, upset.
Jing-Mei looks through her dictionary.
Jing-Mei: Papa's fine, Rusty.
Jing-Mei hits the tv on for Rusty to watch. Then she moves back over to comfort Erik. Jing-Mei runs her hand down the side of his face, wiping his tears up in the process. Erik gets hysterical and hyperventilates. Jing-Mei jumps to her feet and checks his machines.
Jing-Mei: Da...Erik, calm down! You can't get upset like this not while you're still on a ventilator. The machine can't give you the extra oxygen your body needs when you get emotional. You could do more damage to your lungs. Now, take it easy.
Erik calms down but is still very distressed. Jing-Mei sits with him again.
Jing-Mei: Rascal is fine. You understand me--he's fine. He's just hurt a little. He needs an operation but he's alright.
Erik(still slightly hyperventilating): Bbbr..ing pu..ppy mmme.
Jing-Mei: I can't Erik.
Erik: Rrras...al gggo...ne. Lllluccciiano gggo..ne tttoo.
Jing-Mei: No, no baby. I know about Luciano and this isn't anything like it was with Luciano. Rascal isn't dead. He isn't. He's going to be around for along time just like you are.
Erik: Wwwh...y bbbri..ng nnnot mmme.
Jing-Mei: I can't bring him to you because he's going to have to rest for awhile. We can't move him for sometime. But as soon as we can, I'll bring him back to you. I promise. Now, settle down.
Several minutes pass when Jing-Mei looks back at Erik, still holding him in her arms and stroking his forehead.
Jing-Mei: Are you alright, Erik?
Erik doesn't respond.
Jing-Mei: Erik, are you okay?
When Erik still doesn't answer her, she moves from behind him and stares into his eyes.
Jing-Mei: Erik, I'm going to ask you one more time. Are you alright?
Erik blinks his eyes twice. (yes)
Jing-Mei gets a very disturbing thought in her head. She prays that she's wrong so she decides to test her theory.
Jing-Mei: Erik, do you know who I am?
Erik looks at her and takes a deep breath. Then he blinks once(no).
Jing-Mei: Do you know who you are?
Erik thinks for a moment and blinks once(no). She goes over to get Rusty and bring him to Erik. Rusty appears in front of Erik. Erik turns away from him. Jing-Mei physically turns his head back and forces him to look at his eldest son.
Jing-Mei: Erik, do you know who this little boy is?
Erik tries to turn his head away so he doesn't look at Rusty. Jing-Mei starts to get aggravated with him.
Jing-Mei: ERIK, LOOK AT HIM! DO YOU KNOW WHO HE IS?!
Erik blinks once(no). Jing-Mei escorts Rusty back to his seat and he goes back to watching tv unconcerned with what is going on in the room.
Jing-Mei: Erik, do you know where we are or what happened to you?
Again Erik blinks once(no).
Jing-Mei: DAMN IT, ERIK! STOP BLINKING! YOU CAN SPEAK, NOW DO IT! I ASKED YOU IF YOU CAN REMEMBER ANYTHING BEFORE THE LAST HALF HOUR...before I came in here.
Erik starts to shake and opens his mouth but unfortunately nothing comes out. He tries again, but still with no results. His heart monitor starts to beep irregularly. The harder Erik tries to talk the louder the machine beeps. Erik starts to grab his ears to block out the annoyingly loud sound, then reaches for his left arm and rubs it.
Jing-Mei: Alright, stop it! STOP IT! You're going to give yourself another heart attack. Just take it easy.
Erik calms down and relaxes back down in bed. Jing-Mei moves to the visitor's chair and puts her head in her hands. Five minutes later, she gets up and tries to kiss a calmed down Erik but he pulls away. She tries to again and he continues to pull away.
Jing-Mei: I'm leaving Rusty here for a little while. I have to go somewhere. I'll be back.
Jing-Mei kisses Rusty and tells him to wait right there for her to come back. He nods in response. Jing-Mei opens the door and looks back at Erik shaking in his bed, looking totally oblivious of his surroundings. She softly hits her head against the side of the opened door before she leaves.
At a rundown apartment across town, Vincenzio sits at a table counting and sorting money while in between taking hits off a mirror through one of his rolled up dollars. The phone rings and Vincenzio momentarily stops his present activities to answer it.
Vincenzio: THIS HAD BETTER FUCKING BE GOOD!!!
Pincard: I think it is. What did you forget me?
Vincenzio: Oh yeah, Pincard. I was wondering what happened to you?
Pincard: It's not that I'm not enjoying my time in your Sicilian Villa but I'm ready to collect payment for fucking ridding the world of junior, your useless sack of shit kid. Now when am I going to get what you promised me?
Vincenzio: I said I would get you what you wanted but all in due time. It's still too soon for you to come back here. When I feel the time is...Wait, hold on. The other line is ringing. Hang on.
Pincard: Never mind. I'll call you back.(hangs up)
Vincenzio shrugs and then answers his other line.
Vincenzio: WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR GRIEF?!!
Rico: Boss man, it's me Rico.
Jing-Mei arrives up at Dr. Jackson's office and waits outside. When the receptionist allows her to enter the doctor's office, her face is soaked with tears.
Dr. Jackson: Well, Dr. Chen. How are you to...Dr. Chen, what's the matter?
Jing-Mei: We have to talk.
Dr. Jackson: Obviously. You're upset. What happened?
Jing-Mei: Dave.
Dr. Jackson: Erik.
Jing-Mei: Dave or Erik, whatever. Everything we've worked for is gone.
Dr. Jackson: Calm down and tell me what you're talking about.
Jing-Mei: Our puppy, Rascal. I backed over him with the car by accident.
Dr. Jackson: Is he okay?
Jing-Mei: His vet says he's going to recover but he's going to need some down time.
Dr. Jackson: I'm glad you're dog is going to be alright but what does that have to do with Erik?
Jing-Mei: I told Erik about Rascal and...
Dr. Jackson: It upset him?
Jing-Mei: Upset isn't the word. He's devastated. So distraught that he's not responding to us anymore.
Dr. Jackson: What are you talking about?
Jing-Mei: That little puppy got Erik to speak. He responded to him. And now I'm not going to be able to bring him here to visit with Erik at least not for awhile. Erik has shut us out again. He's retreated again. He's withdrawn back into his self.
Dr. Jackson: How do you mean withdrawn?
Jing-Mei: He doesn't remember anything. Not me, Rusty, himself, his injuries, where he's at, nothing. Nothing before I walked in the room a short time ago and laid that bad news on him.
Dr. Jackson: He's just being stubborn, is all.
Jing-Mei: I don't think so. He's also gone back to blinking his eyes to answer yes and no. (pause) He can't speak again.
Dr. Jackson: You mean he's refusing to speak.
Jing-Mei: No, I mean he CAN'T speak. I thought he was just being his arrogant self too. But I forced the issue and demanded that he speak. He tried to. He really did and...
Dr. Jackson: And?
Jing-Mei: And I almost caused him to have another heart attack and he would have if I didn't stop him and calm him down.
Dr. Jackson: I think you're overreacting.
Jing-Mei: I am not, Dr. Jackson. (pause) There's something that you don't know about Erik?
Dr. Jackson: I've gone over all his medical records.
Jing-Mei: This isn't in the medical records. I just found out about it recently myself. When Erik was back over in County and he started to speak, his first word was puppy and his second word was Luciano.
Jing-Mei took a deep breath before she continued.
Dr. Jackson: Go on.
Jing-Mei: I figured he said puppy because he saw Rascal but I couldn't figure out why he called him Luciano until I spoke with his ex- landlord. It seems that back in Sicily, Erik had a puppy named Luciano that winded up dying in his arms. Maybe in Erik's impaired mind, he doesn't see Rascal but Luciano and now that Rascal has been hurt---his mind is relating it back to his childhood trauma. He even mentioned Luciano to me when I told him about Rascal. I guess he's afraid of losing another puppy. Which worries me.
Dr. Jackson: And why is that?
Jing-Mei: When I told him about his sister's death, he knew she was up in heaven with his mother. He remembered that his mother was dead. He took Sophie's death hard, but not as hard as he should have.(pause) They were very close. If Erik was his old self then her death would have hit him even harder. Also, if Erik is so afraid of losing another dog like before that he totally withdraws from the living world, than how will he be if he loses another member of his family.(pause) If anything happens to me or one of his sons---I know he doesn't really acknowledge me very much and the boys---not at all. But he loves us. I know that and if we get taken away from him(pause)then what is that going to do for his already fragile psyche. I'm no psychiatrist neither do I want to pretend that I know much or anything about how the human mind works, but this sounds like it may destroy him psychologically and if that happens we may never get him back--physically or mentally.
Dr. Jackson: I really think you are reading into his actions way too much or are just blowing smoke, but I'll come down as soon as I can and check him out my self.
Jing-Mei: Thank you, Dr. Jackson.
Jing-Mei leaves Dr. Jackson's office and goes back down to Erik's room. She opens the door and sees Rusty sitting in the same place watching tv and Erik sleeping soundly in bed. She carefully closes the door, not to wake him but he wakes up anyway. She walks over to him and puts her hand up to stroke his head when he jumps back on the bed, determined not to let her touch him.
As she is preparing Rusty to leave, the door swings open again and in walks Capt. Amos.
Capt. Amos: Good afternoon, Drs.
Capt. Amos extends his hand to Erik but Erik looks at him confused.
Capt. Amos: Did I insult you somehow, Erik?
Jing-Mei: Captain, it's not you. There's something you need to know. Erik's had a setback.
Capt. Amos: A setback, how?
Jing-Mei: His puppy is sick and I can't bring him to the hospital to visit and it's upset Erik so much that he's not able to talk again and if that's not bad enough it seems like his amnesia is back.
Capt. Amos(running his hand down his face): What?
Jing-Mei: He doesn't remember the attack, his family, himself.
Capt. Amos: Temporary?
Jing-Mei: At least until we get Rascal back, I hope.
Capt. Amos: How long do you think that will be?
Jing-Mei: At least a couple of weeks, maybe a month. I don't know.
Capt. Amos: We can't wait that long, now.
Jing-Mei: Why not?
Capt. Amos: Do you remember the last time I was here and Erik opened up to us. He said a name.
Jing-Mei: Wait a minute, let me think.
Jing-Mei concentrates real hard and after several moments she gets something.
Jing-Mei: I remember, it was a... Rico, wasn't it?
Capt. Amos: That's right.
Jing-Mei: What about it?
Capt. Amos: We ran all the prints that we got out of Dr. Carter's car, the hangar, off of Dr. Malucci's ropes, blindfold and gag that were used to bind him that day. We got an ID.
Jing-Mei: You know who it is then? Who's behind Dave's kidnapping and attack.
Capt. Jackson: Better than that. We have him in custody.
To be continued. Please read and review.